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Four individuals, who were charged with selling alcohol or tobacco to a 16-year-old female informant during July 20-22 compliance checks by the Nebraska State Patrol, waived their rights to counsel, pleaded guilty and were each fined $500 and taxed $50 costs by the Honorable Donna Taylor last week. Taylor said there is “an underground network” among underage individuals looking to buy alcohol and tobacco.

County attorney Joe Abler showed Taylor a copy of the informant’s identification card, which both said has the date in “large red letters.”

Lindsay L. Quinn, 21, of Elgin sold tobacco to the informant at Hometown Station in Elgin. She testified that she had worked there about one and one-half months and had received training. She is from out of state and said she is not used to reading Nebraska IDs, that she read the wrong set of numbers on the ID.

Ashley B. Brabec, 36, of Clearwater admitted selling alcohol to the teen while she was working at Clearwater Market in Clearwater. She said she had worked at the location about one year and had received training but was distracted with customers and did not ask for identification.

Taylor said Brabec had no prior criminal record. “Now you have one,” she told her.

Victoria Latzel, 66, of Elgin pleaded guilty to selling tobacco to the girl at Hi-Way Mart in Clearwater. She told the judge it was “a sting,” and the business’ scanner was not operating, that she had checked the identification but couldn’t read the “small print.”

“It was a compliance check,” Taylor corrected. “A sting is when they try to trap.”

Juan J Vitales, 23, of Neligh, who was working at Cubby’s in Neligh when he was cited, admitted to selling alcohol to the underage informant without checking her ID, and to entering his own date of birth into the register.

Taylor questioned Vitales as to why he would do that. He said it was “normally what we do,” that he was told to do so during his training at the convenience store. “Mr. Abler is going to be in touch with Cubby’s,” she said after handing him the same sentence as the others. “(They) will have to change the way they train employees.”